Under the bright lights of the Nasrec Expo Centre, G20 leaders closed Africa’s first-ever G20 Summit on Sunday with a defiant defense of multilateral cooperation—even as the glaring absence of the United States and deepening geopolitical rifts laid bare the challenges facing the world’s premier economic forum.
In a joint declaration issued early in the two-day gathering, the leaders of the world’s largest economies acknowledged the stark reality: “Our meeting takes place against the backdrop of rising geopolitical and geo-economic competition and instability, heightened conflicts and wars, deepening inequality, increasing global economic uncertainty and fragmentation.” Yet they insisted that “our shared goals outweigh our differences” and recommitted to “renewed multilateral cooperation.”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, chairing his country’s historic hosting, described the summit as occurring “at a crucial time, as calls around the world grow louder for progress on the imperatives of our time.” He hailed the declaration as proof that the G20 remains “relevant and resilient” despite the headwinds.
The most visible headwind was the empty U.S. seat. President Donald Trump’s administration boycotted the Johannesburg gathering, citing misalignment with South Africa’s priorities on trade and climate. Next year the United States will host the G20—reportedly at a Trump-owned Florida golf resort—raising fresh questions about the forum’s ability to function when its most powerful member opts out.
French President Emmanuel Macron delivered the bluntest assessment on Saturday, warning that “the G20 may be coming to the end of a cycle.” Unable to forge consensus on ongoing wars and conflicts, he urged the group to refocus sharply on its original mandate: strategic economic and financial stability.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney struck a similarly somber note, telling reporters: “Too many countries are retreating into geopolitical blocs or the battlegrounds of protectionism. We are not experiencing a transition, but a rupture.” Yet he stressed that the Johannesburg discussions had been “searching and constructive,” with leaders exploring how the G20 can adapt and endure.
That adaptation appears to be tilting toward the Global South. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared that recent multilateral gatherings—COP30 in Belém and now Johannesburg—demonstrate “multilateralism is more alive than ever.” He argued that emerging economies are stepping into the vacuum: “Together we are much stronger… and it is easier to solve the world’s problems.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz echoed the sentiment, describing the summit as evidence that “the world is currently reorganising itself” and that “new connections are being formed” among middle and emerging powers. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and leaders from India, Japan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Australia were among those actively shaping the conversations, underscoring a perceptible rebalancing of influence within the G20.
Founded in 1999 in the wake of the Asian financial crisis, the G20—now comprising 19 countries, the European Union, and the African Union—has long prided itself on informal, consensus-driven diplomacy. Johannesburg tested that model like never before. While no breakthrough accords were announced on war or trade, the very act of gathering without the United States and still producing a unified statement was framed by many delegates as a quiet victory for continuity.
As the gavel fell, Ramaphosa handed the rotating presidency to Brazil ahead of the 2026 summit in Rio de Janeiro. Whether the G20 can evolve from a forum dominated by the G7 into a genuinely multipolar platform—or whether the cracks exposed in Johannesburg will widen—will be the defining question for the year ahead.
